Roller Coaster of Life
Things have been pretty overwhelming for me lately and I haven't felt up to posting. Life is such a roller coaster when you are on the path of mortality and growth. I'm pretty sure we had a small glimpse from above what we were signing up for before this life but we had no idea quite how intense it would actually be. Sometimes its so much fun we just laugh or scream for joy. Other times we cry in fear and never want to go on that ride again. Oh and then there is the head jerkers (more like heart jerkers) that just cause physical pain. Those we just can't decided if the excitement was really worth the repercussions. Somehow after the long exhausting, exciting, painful experience at the theme park we feel satisfied that it was worth every penny and we are so glad we went.
Twists and Turns with Careers and College
Living in America we have so many freedoms and opportunities to grow up and be whatever we want to be. 'Follow your dreams!' we hear. ' You can be anything you put your mind to'....right? Well not in our case. How many college students out there have degree's they never want to work in? What about choosing a field you don't have the IQ or maturity to handle? How many are spending hundreds or thousands per class on a topic they like learning but can't or won't get a job in? Studies say only 27% of College Graduates have a job related to their major. With the Internet at our fingertips we can learn just about anything we want. There are so many unread books in our public libraries and resources available. College is not always the best nor the only option. It does help to have the structure and social support. But is it always worth the money and time? Once you do know from experience what career you will stick to, then get the best training and most experience possible. Now I do agree that everyone should get an associates degree if possible just for the experience of college life. That is a worth while life experience in and of itself. But really how many people are lost in their student debt without a clue where they are going in life. Between my husband and I we have 12 years of University Credits, 3 3/4 degrees and a few certifications. Yet here we are poor and still finding our place in society. Reality is you have to actually find careers that hit these 7 marks.
Choosing Your Career Check List
1. YOU ARE GOOD AT IT (This takes a lot of practice no matter who you are.)
2. YOUR INTERESTED IN IT (You won't know until you volunteer)
3. THERE ARE ENOUGH JOB OPENINGS IT WORKS IN YOUR FAVOR
4. HAS WORK ENVIRONMENT AND SCHEDULE YOU AND YOUR FUTURE FAM LIKE
5. THERE ARE POSITIONS AVAILABLE WHERE YOU ARE WILLING TO LIVE
6. HAS A SALARY YOU CAN HAPPILY LIVE ON (SUPPORTING A FAMILY)
7. YOU HAVE A CONFIRMATION FROM THE LORD ITS RIGHT (Smartest guy I know and He can see the future foreseeing all the things we can't control.)
Now if you know with all your heart you are the exception and can get that 1 opening in the whole state in the field you want. Well you know you better then I know you. If it's the Lord's will He always makes a way.
1 Nephi 3:7 ...I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
The people who usually get that one in a million career have a family member who has taught them from the time they were young. Plus they truly are exceptional. I have also learned that most singers/actors and exceptions to normal careers have not only a family members sacrificing their lives for the persons career but the person usually has to sacrifice their values and privacy in those roles of fame and fortune. Many lean to drugs, alcohol, and other unhealthy alternatives. They would admit while living there dream most of them really are unhappy inside.
My husband and I are working on building skills in ourselves we can teach and pass to the younger generation so they have the knowledge and experience to be useful and employed. I think it's important to separate hobbies and work. Many times we seek to combine the two. It's possible but comes with a price. A price that isn't always worth the gamble. More practical option is to make sure you find a career you enjoy enough to keep you there, then keep your hobbies in your life using your money and free time. But for the rest of us here and now, we have to weigh realistic options or we end up unemployed or working somewhere we truly aren't happy.
My husband is such a wonderful man and Daddy. He and I have however one big fault and that is not uncommon in our society today. Focusing on my husband since he is our family provider, he has really struggled landing his dream career. We have been through a Bachelors Degree, then some time in the field. Next an additional associates degree in a different area of expertise with some time in the field. This was followed by losing many positions because he was hired by people who didn't really know what they wanted or what they were doing. We have learned not to accept any position just because it was offered. Then a year into his Masters Degree and working on getting in that field. At 3K a class we knew he needed more experience in the field instead of more classes and took a break. Don't get me wrong he has learned a lot and grown tremendously as a person. But this road has been hard and really expensive. Eleven years has passed since I started this journey with him and I too have bounced from one idea to another about which career I want to pursue. I originally chose Elementary Education for not only my love of children and teaching but my lack of ability to choose only one subject to teach. 😁 Not wanting to be a flake I have stop calling myself by what I'm learning because I keep changing to move with my interests. I love to learn about anything I'm interested in at the time. I do however have my personal revelation about what I need to focus on at least for the next upcoming years and always have known my greatest calling is a wife and mother.
Prayer after prayer now here we stood with too much debt, 4 beautiful kids and still getting turned down in the field he diligently fought to be a part of. With my most sincere prayers I knew through direct revelation time and time again I needed to not work outside or inside the home for money. There were a few occasions I tried and failed but the message rings clear. I needed to focus my time and energy on raising our children. Let me tell you, they need every ounce of my time and energy. This did allow more of a push on my husband because he was needed to step up to the plate. His Mother gave me the advice to not work unless I planned on never stopping because it is so hard to give up that extra money you have incorporated into your lifestyle. Also because when the mother is fulfilling the finances it leaves the father to not feel as great of a responsibility to be the provider because the role is already filled. I admire how strong many women are that work while raising their young families. Some don't have a choice and some do and it balances them. There is a time and a place and we all have to make that decision and be accountable for it in the days of judgment whether we chose selfless or selfish working choices. There is no right or wrong we can point at anyone but ourselves on that decision.
Time for Answers
The Lord won't always answer our question if it's not best for us to know. For example all the answers about aliens and the universe, they are not needed for our salvation. Maybe it would be best at another time to know that. I think most movies about space and aliens prove that. :) But many a things in life the Lord waits for us to ask properly and He is happy to share. We just have to learn His ways and be willing to abide by them.
Personal Revelations to Fulfill our Potential
Recently when we felt all doors had closed in his career path. He had been praying but hadn't received any specific answer. His Patriarchal blessing tells of the great potential he has and will fulfill through the Lord, but how frustrating to not know how to do that! We kneeled together in couple prayer and scripture study and I suggested we write the questions down in his spiritual journal. Many a times we pray and forget to listen, or forget the questions we even asked. Many times we pray and can't hear the answer because we aren't focused enough in a calm environment. The approach of a direct written question with empty lines below allows for a direct answer. Leaving privacy for his situation my husband did receive his answer. It was just as loud and clear as I promised it would be. The head spinning part was he didn't technically need any of that formal education to become an expert in this revealed avenue. We can always use the lessons and experience we have been through to be a better parent and employee however.
I have received so much revelation this way and later can go back and read it again and again. When I first started it was kind of an accident. I wasn't sure if it was my imagination or actually the Holy Ghost giving me revelation. Moroni in the Book of Mormon promised if we asked with a sincere heart we would know it was true. I had received that testament and so decided to ask if this revelation was true.
Moroni 10:4
And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Something like, "Was that you God? Did you say that? Then I would hear the confirmation "Yes." Then I would say,"That's awesome!"
Steps to Receiving Revelation
1. We have to be keeping ALL the Lords Commandments to the best of our ability and be seeking to hear Him. If you aren't, pray for help and change.
2. Daily repent and if needed go to a Bishop for more serious sins. Clean slates allow clearer words.
3. Start with a sincere prayer to invite the Spirit.
4. Diligently study a scripture or multiple scriptures.
5. Write down what you want to ask. Then in a prayer out loud or silently converse with the Lord leaving blank lines on the paper for the answer.
6. Listen and imagine standing with the Lord in a beautiful place and speak to Him like He is your friend. Then imagine what you would expect him to say and just write it down.
7. Ask if that was His revelation or just your imagination and wait for the Yes or No (Sometimes no equals a stupor of thought.)
D&C 9:9
But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.
I often write some personal experiences of trials and blessing I am going through. In times of a speaker like General Conference I
will write a question and leave a big area for the answer and then
write another question with a few blank lines and so forth. As I listen
I will refer back to the questions as I hear the answers. Its easy to
forget so sometimes I just flip back after taking notes and ask the
questions during the talk letting the Spirit of the meeting guide my
answers. Sometimes question 3 will get answered first and question 1
waits. But if you are persistent answers WILL come. If they aren't
coming ask what you need to do to change or ask what questions you
should ask. A friend once told me, "The more powerful the question, the
more powerful the answer." Having an increase of the spirit like
attending the temple (especially in the celestial room) or turning on
reverent church music also narrow the heavenly gap making it easier to
hear His voice. Many questions I ask I need guidance on my personal life
or to understand an individual in my life. For things regarding facts
of the world we can just pray to have the spirit guide us and then go to
work looking for answers through resources provided.
Mathew 7:7-8 reads
Ask an it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth: and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
I loved going to devotionals at BYU-Idaho when I was a student there. This was a devotional I attended and it really struck home. I have often felt sad and disconnected being a homemaker and so I looked back to my days of being single and found what it was that brought me happiness. Then I found a way to incorporate those into my current schedule. Listening to the weekly devotional was one of my really happy memories. All it takes now is a few finger taps and I'm ready to be spiritually enlightened and reminded of something wonderful I am a part of. This talk called "Rise to Your Potential" struck me as something everyone needs to hear when they are looking to reach their potential. I hope you take the time to listen or read it.
Rise to Your Potential-Audio-Written
by Elder D. Lee Tobler
I pray the Lord may bless our roads as we twist and turn through this life. That we may all find a way to enjoy it as he sets the track and we take the ride. I know each of us does have a very important mission to complete and life to experience. We are children of the Almighty King and He expects great things of us. In order to know what those things are we can just knock and ask. 😊
Things have been pretty overwhelming for me lately and I haven't felt up to posting. Life is such a roller coaster when you are on the path of mortality and growth. I'm pretty sure we had a small glimpse from above what we were signing up for before this life but we had no idea quite how intense it would actually be. Sometimes its so much fun we just laugh or scream for joy. Other times we cry in fear and never want to go on that ride again. Oh and then there is the head jerkers (more like heart jerkers) that just cause physical pain. Those we just can't decided if the excitement was really worth the repercussions. Somehow after the long exhausting, exciting, painful experience at the theme park we feel satisfied that it was worth every penny and we are so glad we went.
Twists and Turns with Careers and College
Living in America we have so many freedoms and opportunities to grow up and be whatever we want to be. 'Follow your dreams!' we hear. ' You can be anything you put your mind to'....right? Well not in our case. How many college students out there have degree's they never want to work in? What about choosing a field you don't have the IQ or maturity to handle? How many are spending hundreds or thousands per class on a topic they like learning but can't or won't get a job in? Studies say only 27% of College Graduates have a job related to their major. With the Internet at our fingertips we can learn just about anything we want. There are so many unread books in our public libraries and resources available. College is not always the best nor the only option. It does help to have the structure and social support. But is it always worth the money and time? Once you do know from experience what career you will stick to, then get the best training and most experience possible. Now I do agree that everyone should get an associates degree if possible just for the experience of college life. That is a worth while life experience in and of itself. But really how many people are lost in their student debt without a clue where they are going in life. Between my husband and I we have 12 years of University Credits, 3 3/4 degrees and a few certifications. Yet here we are poor and still finding our place in society. Reality is you have to actually find careers that hit these 7 marks.
Choosing Your Career Check List
1. YOU ARE GOOD AT IT (This takes a lot of practice no matter who you are.)
2. YOUR INTERESTED IN IT (You won't know until you volunteer)
3. THERE ARE ENOUGH JOB OPENINGS IT WORKS IN YOUR FAVOR
4. HAS WORK ENVIRONMENT AND SCHEDULE YOU AND YOUR FUTURE FAM LIKE
5. THERE ARE POSITIONS AVAILABLE WHERE YOU ARE WILLING TO LIVE
6. HAS A SALARY YOU CAN HAPPILY LIVE ON (SUPPORTING A FAMILY)
7. YOU HAVE A CONFIRMATION FROM THE LORD ITS RIGHT (Smartest guy I know and He can see the future foreseeing all the things we can't control.)
Now if you know with all your heart you are the exception and can get that 1 opening in the whole state in the field you want. Well you know you better then I know you. If it's the Lord's will He always makes a way.
1 Nephi 3:7 ...I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
The people who usually get that one in a million career have a family member who has taught them from the time they were young. Plus they truly are exceptional. I have also learned that most singers/actors and exceptions to normal careers have not only a family members sacrificing their lives for the persons career but the person usually has to sacrifice their values and privacy in those roles of fame and fortune. Many lean to drugs, alcohol, and other unhealthy alternatives. They would admit while living there dream most of them really are unhappy inside.
My husband and I are working on building skills in ourselves we can teach and pass to the younger generation so they have the knowledge and experience to be useful and employed. I think it's important to separate hobbies and work. Many times we seek to combine the two. It's possible but comes with a price. A price that isn't always worth the gamble. More practical option is to make sure you find a career you enjoy enough to keep you there, then keep your hobbies in your life using your money and free time. But for the rest of us here and now, we have to weigh realistic options or we end up unemployed or working somewhere we truly aren't happy.
My husband is such a wonderful man and Daddy. He and I have however one big fault and that is not uncommon in our society today. Focusing on my husband since he is our family provider, he has really struggled landing his dream career. We have been through a Bachelors Degree, then some time in the field. Next an additional associates degree in a different area of expertise with some time in the field. This was followed by losing many positions because he was hired by people who didn't really know what they wanted or what they were doing. We have learned not to accept any position just because it was offered. Then a year into his Masters Degree and working on getting in that field. At 3K a class we knew he needed more experience in the field instead of more classes and took a break. Don't get me wrong he has learned a lot and grown tremendously as a person. But this road has been hard and really expensive. Eleven years has passed since I started this journey with him and I too have bounced from one idea to another about which career I want to pursue. I originally chose Elementary Education for not only my love of children and teaching but my lack of ability to choose only one subject to teach. 😁 Not wanting to be a flake I have stop calling myself by what I'm learning because I keep changing to move with my interests. I love to learn about anything I'm interested in at the time. I do however have my personal revelation about what I need to focus on at least for the next upcoming years and always have known my greatest calling is a wife and mother.
Prayer after prayer now here we stood with too much debt, 4 beautiful kids and still getting turned down in the field he diligently fought to be a part of. With my most sincere prayers I knew through direct revelation time and time again I needed to not work outside or inside the home for money. There were a few occasions I tried and failed but the message rings clear. I needed to focus my time and energy on raising our children. Let me tell you, they need every ounce of my time and energy. This did allow more of a push on my husband because he was needed to step up to the plate. His Mother gave me the advice to not work unless I planned on never stopping because it is so hard to give up that extra money you have incorporated into your lifestyle. Also because when the mother is fulfilling the finances it leaves the father to not feel as great of a responsibility to be the provider because the role is already filled. I admire how strong many women are that work while raising their young families. Some don't have a choice and some do and it balances them. There is a time and a place and we all have to make that decision and be accountable for it in the days of judgment whether we chose selfless or selfish working choices. There is no right or wrong we can point at anyone but ourselves on that decision.
Time for Answers
The Lord won't always answer our question if it's not best for us to know. For example all the answers about aliens and the universe, they are not needed for our salvation. Maybe it would be best at another time to know that. I think most movies about space and aliens prove that. :) But many a things in life the Lord waits for us to ask properly and He is happy to share. We just have to learn His ways and be willing to abide by them.
Personal Revelations to Fulfill our Potential
Recently when we felt all doors had closed in his career path. He had been praying but hadn't received any specific answer. His Patriarchal blessing tells of the great potential he has and will fulfill through the Lord, but how frustrating to not know how to do that! We kneeled together in couple prayer and scripture study and I suggested we write the questions down in his spiritual journal. Many a times we pray and forget to listen, or forget the questions we even asked. Many times we pray and can't hear the answer because we aren't focused enough in a calm environment. The approach of a direct written question with empty lines below allows for a direct answer. Leaving privacy for his situation my husband did receive his answer. It was just as loud and clear as I promised it would be. The head spinning part was he didn't technically need any of that formal education to become an expert in this revealed avenue. We can always use the lessons and experience we have been through to be a better parent and employee however.
I have received so much revelation this way and later can go back and read it again and again. When I first started it was kind of an accident. I wasn't sure if it was my imagination or actually the Holy Ghost giving me revelation. Moroni in the Book of Mormon promised if we asked with a sincere heart we would know it was true. I had received that testament and so decided to ask if this revelation was true.
Moroni 10:4
And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Something like, "Was that you God? Did you say that? Then I would hear the confirmation "Yes." Then I would say,"That's awesome!"
Steps to Receiving Revelation
1. We have to be keeping ALL the Lords Commandments to the best of our ability and be seeking to hear Him. If you aren't, pray for help and change.
2. Daily repent and if needed go to a Bishop for more serious sins. Clean slates allow clearer words.
3. Start with a sincere prayer to invite the Spirit.
4. Diligently study a scripture or multiple scriptures.
5. Write down what you want to ask. Then in a prayer out loud or silently converse with the Lord leaving blank lines on the paper for the answer.
6. Listen and imagine standing with the Lord in a beautiful place and speak to Him like He is your friend. Then imagine what you would expect him to say and just write it down.
7. Ask if that was His revelation or just your imagination and wait for the Yes or No (Sometimes no equals a stupor of thought.)
D&C 9:9
But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.
Mathew 7:7-8 reads
Ask an it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth: and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
I loved going to devotionals at BYU-Idaho when I was a student there. This was a devotional I attended and it really struck home. I have often felt sad and disconnected being a homemaker and so I looked back to my days of being single and found what it was that brought me happiness. Then I found a way to incorporate those into my current schedule. Listening to the weekly devotional was one of my really happy memories. All it takes now is a few finger taps and I'm ready to be spiritually enlightened and reminded of something wonderful I am a part of. This talk called "Rise to Your Potential" struck me as something everyone needs to hear when they are looking to reach their potential. I hope you take the time to listen or read it.
Rise to Your Potential-Audio-Written
by Elder D. Lee Tobler
I pray the Lord may bless our roads as we twist and turn through this life. That we may all find a way to enjoy it as he sets the track and we take the ride. I know each of us does have a very important mission to complete and life to experience. We are children of the Almighty King and He expects great things of us. In order to know what those things are we can just knock and ask. 😊
Heidi Evalyn Kowallis
More from me~
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